The Photographer

(27) Silverstone Pt1

It was race week and the day before everything kicked off in Silverstone with media day tomorrow. Everyone was busy preparing and tying up loose ends for Aston Martin's home race and the office was buzzing but there was one particular thing coming up during the weekend that a lot of people were excited about. It had been confirmed that Seb was bringing his Williams FW14B, the iconic car driven by Nigel Mansell when he won the title in 1992, to Silverstone and he was going to drive it around the circuit on Sunday morning, ahead of the British Grand Prix. It would also be his birthday and to make it even more special, Nigel Mansell would be there himself to witness it.

Iris had been assigned the task of official photographer for the event and would be responsible for photographing Seb and the car tomorrow and before he hit the track on Sunday and she couldn't wait, not least because it meant spending extra time with him even though it would be in a working capacity and they wouldn't be alone.

Sitting at her desk, she picked her phone up to check for any messages, Seb had been unusually quiet so far today, maybe he was just busy getting ready for his flight over.

The office door opened and she didn't look up to see who it was until she heard someone say, "hi Seb, good to see you. What can we do for you?"

Her head shot up and she could barely contain her smile as her eyes met his across the room. Seeing him was the best thing to happen to her all day. In fact it was the best thing to happen to her since she'd last seen him.

"Actually I was hoping to grab a few minutes with Iris," he grinned and leaned against the door frame, crossing one foot over the other and folding his arms across his chest. Seeing her and how happy she looked to see him had made the very early start he'd had this morning well worth it. He'd driven straight here from the airport with Britta and Antti and couldn't wait another minute to see the woman who'd quickly become the centre of his world.

"Me?" she put her hand on her chest, pretending that she hadn't quite heard him, not wanting to seem too eager in front of her colleagues.

"It's just to go over a few things for tomorrow," he quickly explained, trying to keep up a professional facade when all he wanted to do was run over to her and give her a huge hug and a kiss. "It won't take long," he added, standing upright and holding the door open for her.

Trying to stifle her smile, she rose from her chair and then grabbed her bag before making her way towards him. As their eyes met again, she nibbled on her bottom lip. Just being in his presence made her whole body feel electrified. The butterflies in her tummy felt like they going to escape through her chest and her heart was already racing at the thought of stealing a few minutes alone with him.

She couldn't deny the buzz she got from seeing him and the thrill she felt when they were anywhere near each other.

Stepping out into the corridor she was reminded of the day when he'd met her for lunch, it felt like so long ago but in reality it had only been a few months ago.

"It's good to see you, really good," Seb began as they started walking, falling into step with each other without even having to think about it, "how have you been?"

She felt him place a hand on her back and it made her want to push him up against the wall and kiss him senseless. "It's so good to see you," she paused and looked behind them to make sure no one could hear them, "I've missed you so much. I know we've been messaging each other but I've still missed you."

He let his hand linger on her back for a few more seconds and quietly replied, "me too." He wanted to say something else but a door opened just ahead of them and someone stepped out, he let his hand fall to his side immediately.